Various forms of solar heating arrangements have been suggested heretofore in an effort to use energy from the sun as a source of heat. In its simplest form, such an arrangement constitutes the judicious disposition and orientation of transparent surfaces arranged to admit electromagnetic radiation emanating from the sun to an interior region which, preferably, includes an appropriate medium responsive to such radiation. The medium typically employed heretofore has been water which functions to absorb solar heat, and the water is caused to flow through an appropriate path subject to solar radiation, or to heat from such radiation, so that heat absorbed in the water can be extracted therefrom for utilization as desired. In some cases, the water flow path is defined by a continuous length of tubing which is coiled in various appropriate configurations, e.g. as shown in Gould U.S. Pat. No. 1,747,826, Trombe U.S. Pat. No. 2,552,237, Fox U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,562, Garrett U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,820, Thomason U.S. Pat. No. 3,215,134, Thannhauser U.S. Pat. No. 3,254,644, and Long U.S. Pat. No. 3,778,578; and, in some cases, it has been suggested that such solar heating coils should be associated with an appropriate storage tank, e.g. as in the aforementioned prior art Gould patent, to provide a more convenient supply of heated water for utilization in a home or the like.
Even though systems of the type contemplated by the aforementioned Gould patent have been known in the art for at least 45 years, they have not found any general acceptance, possibly because systems of the type suggested heretofore have been comparatively inefficient. More particularly, even in those cases where the solar collector design has operated in adequate fashion to heat a quantity of water, the temperature to which the water is heated and/or the quantity of water which is actually heated have not adequately supplied the needs of a typical home; and in those cases where attempts have been made to supplement the solar collector with a water storage tank to retain a somewhat larger supply of heated water, the overall system, rather than accomplishing the desired purpose, has actually proved to be detrimental to those purposes since the overall system has been subject to excessive heat loss during periods when solar radiation is not actually being received, e.g. during cool evenings or under inclement weather conditions.
The present invention, recognizing these disadvantages of the prior art, is concerned with an improved solar heating system which operates at negligible cost to provide a larger quantity of water, heated to a higher temperature, than has been possible heretofore and which functions to automatically maintain an appropriate supply of adequately heated water for utilization even under adverse ambient conditions.